The girls are 3 weeks old! Looking back to May 29th, it's amazing to see how far they've come and how much we have learned in the process. As my Dad says, "parenting is not for the weak." Ain't that the truth. I wish they had a quote for parenting twins.
A few quick updates and lessons learned:
- As of yesterday, Teagan is weighing in at 7lbs 13oz and Quinn is 6lbs 4.5oz. My worries about them getting enough food have subsided!
- Yesterday I "successfully" tandem breastfed the girls for the first time. I use the quotes because I used a nipple shield with Quinn. While it's only a band-aid solution, it was just what I needed to show me that I can and will feed them at the same time (saving me a ton of time feeding and pumping).
- Everyone is different, this includes babies. At the end of the day, do what works for you and your baby. Everyone will give you their two cents but go with your gut.
- "Two steps forward, one step back." After my first "successful" tandem feed, the following one was a disaster. Quinn screamed her head off. Such is life! I'm trying hard to not let the steps back discourage me. Today we had 2 successful tandem feeds!
- The girls LOVE to be outside (although what baby doesn't?!). We've been getting out for walks, car trips and outings everyday.
- At 3 weeks old, you can already see huge personality differences. Who knows if what we think will actually play out though. Teagan is definitely Miss Personality. She's a total ham with so many different facial expressions. She's super cuddly and loves to be held. Quinn, for the most part, is very calm. She's a quiet observer. Yesterday, we were eating dinner on the back deck. Quinn was in her swing, her huge eyes exploring the sky.
- We are fortunate enough to have a night nurse take care of the babies for 3 nights per week (a very generous and priceless gift from my parents). She is here from 10pm-6am. I pump and she bottle feeds the twins. Jenn sleeps from about 11pm-6am straight and I get up once to pump around 2am. Regardless, this is what's kept our sanity for the last 3 weeks! To know that we'll be "off-call" and getting some good sleep is the greatest thing any new parent could ask for. Not only that, she is an expert with sleep training. While newborns can't be sleep trained, good habits can be developed at an early age. If this is something you're considering as a new parent, do it! You will not regret it!!
I definitely have more to say but my head isn't on straight these days, so I'll leave it at that for now.
So jealous about the night nurse! I think I may have to spring for one in the weeks when we don't have family or friends staying with us....so far we've only had one night where it's just my husband and me.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your questions, I'm still using the shields with both of them, and I refuse to feel guilty about it. It works for them, it works for me, and they're getting enough to eat. Yes it would be easier if they'd just latch on without a shield, but it's working and they're eating and that's really what I care about.
Congrats on the tandem feeding and the great weights!